Psalm 23
Last month in Romania, on our last day in Alba Iulia, our host and his friend took us on an adventure day to the Salt Mines, and then after that on a nature hike. It was an all around unforgettable day that I’d really like to share with you.
We were split into two cars on the way there and back, and I was in the car with our host, Zsolt, who pretty much became our brother after being with each other everyday over the entirety of our time in Alba Iulia. We sang worship songs as we rode through the countryside of Romania, and I experienced one of those sweet, sweet moments where the Lord completely humbled me and reminded me of how much He loved me and everything it meant when He was on the cross. He took me through a movie reel of my brokenness and mess before I truly loved Him, and even after I loved Him, and how in a moment He redeemed it all for me. I did nothing to deserve it, in fact I did the opposite. I ran from Him and pursued my own desires searching for a fulfillment that is ultimately only found in Him. He broke it down for me sentence by sentence, as I listened to and sang the words of Reckless Love.
I’ve sung this song a thousand times, but something about the live version where Cory Asbury breaks down the meaning behind the words, it penetrated the depths of my being. Remembering how He pursues me when I wandered away, and like a Good Shepherd, He leaves the flock of 99 to find the 1 lost sheep, me. He puts me on His shoulders and carries me as I learn to hear His voice. And He continually does this to me, time after time. His love is reckless for me, and I am, therefore….Wrecked. In the best way possible.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:1-8
** Side note: this is not the first time the Lord has led me to Luke 15 this month- probably one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Coincidence? Nah.
So all of that was before the agenda for our day had really even started. ((Thanks God- You’re so awesome!))
The salt mines were really cool and it was a fun experience to be underground and see cool things beneath the earth’s surface, but the nature walk is where the strings of my heart continued to be pulled.
The path we that walked closely followed a stream, was absolutely beautiful, and wound through some rocky boulders, trees, and bridges. It took a little over an hour to finally arrive at its concluding area, but when we did, man, was it worth it!
The pictures just don’t do it justice, but it was basically an open space of green hills, rocky overlooks, patches of yellow flowers, and a steadfast stream right down the middle. People were having picnics and taking photos with their families, and there I was with my friends and the random 3 French girls we met, standing in awe and wonder of my God and His creation.
I decided I needed to get to the other side of the stream to the hill with the yellow flowers to pick one, so after a few minutes of carefully plotting my crossing, I committed and navigated my way across, successfully accomplishing my mission. I picked a few, just because, and proudly crossed back to the other side with the rest of the people.
Not two minutes later an ENTIRE flock of sheep came strolling around the corner on the other side of the river!! (The side I just came back from!) and then I see the shepherd, staff in hand, walking humbly with his flock. I could t believe what was happening in front of my eyes.
1. I’d never seen a scene like this before with so many sheep, little lambs, and a real shepherd.
2. I felt like this place was already too good to be true.
3. I was overjoyed with the funny sounds of the sheep and baby lambs!
As I’m sitting here, watching this happen, I realize that Psalm 23 is unfolding in front of my eyes and I’m just rocked, AGAIN. I will never read that Psalm the same way again, so all that to say, I just want to share a little bit more about how God personally wrote Psalm 23 in my heart that day.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.The LORD is my shepherd;
This is relationship.
Him & I.
In John 10:11, Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
He is literally holding NOTHING back from me in our relationship.
All of His love has been poured out, and I can trust Him.
I will not lack for anything.
supply.
I have everything I need in Him.
He provides for my every desire, leaving me satisfied in Him.
His supplies are abundant in my life and in my heart.
In grassy pastures he makes me lie down;
rest. nourishment.
He gives me rest.
In the chaos and overwhelming aspects of life,
He gives me peace.
"Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened,
and I will give you rest"
-Jesus in Matthew 11:28
by quiet waters he leads me.
refreshment, rest, security.
Jesus is my living water.
He alone satisfies my thirst.
"whoever believes in me, rivers of living waters will flow from within them."
John 7:38
He restores my life.
healing.
From all of my own sins and the sins of others that have affected me.
He turns the things I was ashamed of into a testimony of His goodness.
"to bestow upon them a crown of beauty instead of ashes"
Isaiah 61
He renews my strength through the healing He brings.
He guides me along right paths,
guidance.
He gives wisdom and discernment,
never leaving me alone.
Like a good parent, His desire is to show me the way
and protect me from harm.
bringing honor to His name.
purpose.
He does all of this for His glory to be known.
For His kindness and mercy to be seen.
He chooses to use me, and sees me as worthy of
a daughter in the kingdom.
Even when I walk in a dark valley, I fear no evil
protection.
There is no avoiding the trails and and hard things in life,
but His promise is that I am never alone.
I am not afraid of evil because I am in His light.
because you are with me.
faithfulness.
I'm never fighting a battle in my own strength,
but instead with the Creator of the Universe,
and He's got my back.
"Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.
For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you.
He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
Deuteronomy 31:6
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
discipline.
I am comforted by the fact that my Father will discipline me.
And He ALWAYS does it gently.
If He didn't love me, He wouldn't care to correct me.
"For the LORD corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights."
Proverbs 3:12
You prepare before me a table
in the presence of my oppressors.
hope. protection.
He invites me to dine with Him at His table.
The veil was torn. There is nothing between us.
Even through hard things, He sees my desire to seek
His heart first and therefore honors me for
honoring Him.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
abundance.
When I stop and look around,
my life is overflowing with his goodness and blessings.
He has withheld no good thing from me.
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."
Psalm 84:11
Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me
all the days of my life,
blessing. confidence.
Because He has come through time after time for me,
and because He is good,
I have a confident hope in the fact that
He is who He says He is,
and He will do what He promises.
and I will dwell in the house of The LORD
security.
I am confident of my place in His family.
I am justified and blameless before Him because of Jesus,
and only Jesus. Not by my own works.
"God decided in advance to adopt us
into his own family by bringing us to himself
through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do,
and it gave him great pleasure."
Ephesians 1:5
"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight
by faith,
we have peace with God
because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Romans 5:1
forever.
eternity.
until the end of time.
it's not temporary or fleeting.
He's committed to me.
He doesn't change His mind about me.
BONUS for YOU!
(because I found it super insightful & really interesting)
Here are some other interesting and relevant facts about sheep/shepherds:
click here !
“But Shannon, why would I care about sheep and shepherds??”
Good question. Well, Jesus used parables because stories were a huge part of the culture and He wanted the people to understand what He was trying to explain. He used the sheep and shepherd metaphor to help the people better understand the relationship between us and God. This is something that takes humility to understand, but in the humility is where you find Him. It’s impossible to find God when we are prideful and believe we can do it all on our own. (Hints the religious leaders and righteous Pharisees referenced in the story He told in Luke 15 above.)
Prayer Requests:
- For our squad to end our time in Europe with even more passion and joy than when we started the race
- For that momentum to build as we transition into Africa for the last leg of the race.
- Peace about the Lord’s plans for our futures after the race
- Our families in general
- That the parents who were at PVT would not only receive what the Lord gave them during that time but take it back to their everyday lives in the states.
- A continued awareness and outpour of His love for me
- For the teachers at Homestead to reflect on the goodness of God this past school year, for patience as the kids get antsy for summer break, and for them to make the most of each moment they have left with their kiddos.
- Wisdom and self-discipline for myself
- That the Lord would give me greater revelations through my social media fast this month.
Thank you for following along with me, and taking time out of your day to read about what the Lord is doing in my life. I really do appreciate your time and prayers more than anything. Please feel free to shoot me a text or email ANYTIME just to let me know how you are doing and how I can be praying for you. I have wifi this month, but I don’t know what the next 3 months will look like in East Africa, so I’d love to touch base with you before that. Seriously, I would love to hear from you.
